Masterclass with Janine Baller

Janine Baller (1967) began her musical education with piano and violin. At the age of 10, she started playing violin in a youth orchestra and switched to the viola at 14. In 1985, she began her studies at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague with Ferdinand Erblich (Orlando Quartet) and studied orchestral repertoire with Ron Ephrat (Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra).

After a few years as a substitute in major Dutch orchestras, she joined the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra as a tutti violist in 1996. During her studies, she played extensively in chamber music ensembles and later served as a leading violist in Domestica Rotterdam for 10 years. In the Rotterdam Philharmonic, she worked under chief conductors Valery Gergiev, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Lahav Shani, among others, with favorite conductors including Simon Rattle, Bernard Haitink, Tarmo Peltokoski, and Jukka-Pekka Saraste.

In addition to her orchestral work, Janine regularly coaches viola players in preparation for auditions, scholarships, and during their studies.